Member-only story
REAL ESTATE
With Mortgage Rates Stuck at 7%, Lenders are Offering Deals
Can you get a ‘rate sale’?
Discounted interest rates. Deals on future purchases. Speedy delivery.
No, these are not the promises of an auto dealer or eager e-retailer start-up. They’re coming from mortgage lenders.
The incentives reflect the harsh reality of the residence-financing scene. Since 2021, have more than doubled. The predictable result: American homebuyers and homeowners have sharply reduced their appetite for home loans. In the third quarter of 2024, Americans took half as many mortgages as they did in the same period in 2021, .
The drop in applications puts lenders in a tough position — and, like any seller in a slow market, they’ve responded by dangling deals to get homebuyers to look past the run-up in rates. Here’s how to navigate the borrower-friendly strategies lenders are offering, now that rock-bottom rates no longer are driving business.
Many housing economists expect mortgage rates to fall below 6.5 percent by the end of 2025. If that scenario plays out, it might make sense for today’s homebuyers to refinance in the not-too-distant future. Even so, refinancing ain’t cheap — can total 3 percent to 5…
